Two Men Indicted for Cat Killings

Last year, San Antonio area residents were shocked at the mutilation and serial killings of more than a dozen cats. Finally, two Universal city residents have been indicted on killing at least three of those felines. The two men facing charges for the crimes are Austin Patterson, 19, and Jordan Mitchell, 22.

Normally, animal cruelty is a state felony punishable with up to two years in jail, but because the crimes involved a deadly weapon, the two men could actually face third-degree felony charges that could result in 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It will be interesting to see how this plays out because animal cruelty is a very difficult crime to prosecute.

I am not sure what makes people commit these horrendous crimes, but sadly, cats most often are the victims of animal cruelty.

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27 Responses

I hope they throw the book at these creeps. I don’t care if it’s cats, horses, or humpback whales – for crying out loud, what is wrong with people? We’re not the only animals who deserve to not get shot with guns.

My cat was shot by my neighbor. For those of you that dont think crimes like this are severly serious, think again. Most courts ‘under-charge’ animal abuse. That is, they buy into the ‘there are too many strays! it was feral! it was mean!’ defense. In court, the ‘under-charged’ defendant typically pleads to an even lesser charge. Probation and community service is mostly all they get. By the time they get through to civil court, they pretty much are scot free. It costs THOUSANDS to take someone thru Civil Court and who can afford spend THOUSANDS on a cat or dog? (FYI — Civil lawyers in average city size cost $200 and hour or more. The average time spent on a Civil court case is 200+ hours, do the math and compare it to the cost of a cat or dog)

In the end, the criminal pretty much walks and the cat/cat owner end up suffering. Unless the penalty is severe enough to deter them, they will keep doing it.

You think its not that bad? Ask a veterenarian for some pictures. Or even ask a cop.

Carol, all I can say is get some help for your OCD and anger issues. The fact that you repetitively post without a response tells me that you have some serious issues that need to be addressed. I see a recurring theme of children (you have none I’m sure) and religion in your posts which tell me you need some serious help. God bless and I hope you get it.

PS. Don’t block out those ugly childhood memories. You need to confront them before you can move on. I am out!

It’s been fun, FS, but I won’t be posting anymore, or readong, so don’t think you had the last word. I hope you get the help you need, and come to terms with your West side background. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, FS, really. Only make sure your mom says it’s Ok to move back in with her, as when your neighbors on the North side find out, they WILL kick you out, I’m sure, and you’ll find yourself homeless.

I hope you become a better parent and pay more attention to your son instead of spouting the poison I’ve seen from you on this blog.

Oh and since I’m sure YOU also go to Church, have fun this Sunday, FS. God Bless You and enjoy the attention you get when people watch you tithe.

Nope, FS, that doesn’t hit home with me. I was never an abused child. But what about YOUR children? What about your son that “accidentally” let the cat out that was killed? After seeing your nastiness on this blog, do you really expect anyone here to believe that was an accident?

And you never answered the question: What WERE YOU doing, when your son let the cat out? Were you too busy on this blog? I’m on vacation; I have an excuse.

And nope, you got it wrong about me living alone too. I live with my boyfriend, and we only have 4 cats.

But what about YOU, FS? Have you shared with your neighbors about your poverty-stricken background? I would suggest you tell them before someone else does.

Since we are into dime-store physcology, I’ll make a few observations of my own. I agree wth Joy. Most CHILDREN who abuse animals do not necesseraliy go on to commit acts of physical violence as adults. I don’t think anyone out there can cite a valid study that quantifies this propensity. These two guys were adults and as such, should be held accountable for their warped actions. But if you tell me they are on their way to becoming serial killers, I would say probably not.

But I can make some observations that are probably true about aninal rights zealots. Excuse me if these observatations hit close to home Carol. Most of these people are women although there are some men who fit this profile. These people suffered some type of abuse / trauma as a child and they find it difficult to relate to other people as adults. They tend to be loners who function in society, but at a very basic level. They work, pay bills, etc…, but have no real joy in their lives. Their pets become surrogate people to them. Some of them become pet hoarders and live in conditions that most sane people would find deplorable. I emphatize and feel sorry for these people. These people need interdiction and intensive counseling, not more animals.

In my opinion what these two young men did does not compare to what “most kids do that eventually wind up being successful adults and taxpayers”. These particular cat killings were on par with a Hannibal Lecter type of personality. And there is definitely some type of history with Mr. Patterson. Sadly, there are some people who cannot be rehabilitated by mandatory counseling and probation. Sometimes all that can be done is to put those types away so that they cause no further harm.

And I (personally) AM outraged at the murders and violence in this city. Being upset about a brutal cat killing does not preclude me from also being upset about human tragedies. Most people have enough compassion for both.

Maybe you can answer this: This has happened to me TWICE. I’ve been downtown, and I’ve seen A CHILD (mind you, a HUMAN child) wandering around, lost. Both times I helped that child find her mother. (It was a little girl, both times.) I will assure you know that NO ONE ELSE STOPPED TO HELP THE KID. I swear to God, no one stopped, except for me, and a gentleman who got my attention about the 2nd child that was wandering around lost. That’s it. Can you explain why I, the animal lover, would stop and help a lost kid, and the rest of the city’s population did NOT? I kid you not, Joy and Cathy. PEOPLE WALKED AROUND A LOST CHILD.

I wonder if all of them were animal lovers….

Oh and remember this is San Antonio. We’re NOT an animal friendly city. Obviously we’re not child-friendly either, because I swear, I have never forgotten how no one was even the slightest concerned that those kids would get abducted. Only I, the crazy animal lover.

Same with a homeless person recently. A bag lady fell down and couldn’t get up. NO ONE BOTHERED TO CALL 911, BUT ME, THE ANIMAL LOVER. This woman could have broken something, but no one stopped.

I will have to respectfully disagree with you on someone torturing a cat and going on to being “OK.” Personally, I wouldn’t trust someone like that, sorry. But to assume that animal lovers don’t get bothered about murders is just inaccurate. Please explain to me these instances where I was the only one who gave a damn about CHILDREN and a poor ole bag lady.

And thank you, Joy, for caring about the cats in your yard. You’re a good person.

Those of you who have mentioned that animal cruelty can be a red flag for other cruelty are right. Many people start being cruel to pets before moving on to people. Thankfully, many prosecutors and judges today are aware of that link today and hopefully will take that into consideration if the two men are found guilty of the crimes. Animal cruelty can be prosecuted on many different levels, from a misdeameanor crime to a felony. Felony animal cruelty was adopted by states many years ago as a result of increased cases of torture and mutilation. But it is very hard to prosecute felony cases.

OK What these two did was gross and terrible.No doubt about it and I do believe that mandatory counseling and probation should happen. However, I firmly believe that jail time is ridiculous. Before everyone gets angry let me tell you that I am an animal lover. At this time I have dogs and have been taking care of feral cats who continue to have their babies in our yard. When we can catch them we have them spayed. That being said, I am also a psychotherapist who can tell you that what these two did is NOT NECESSARILY a sign of serial killers to be. On the contrary, MOST kids who do things like this do not turn out to be “crazy”. MOST learn their lesson and turn out to be successful adults and tax payers. It also occurs to me that people don’t seem to get as upset about the murders that happen everyday in this city as they do about things like this. Why is that? What has happened to our society? Are we so hardened to violence that we no longer even notice? I think that if we all ponder this question rather than jumping to conclusions and condeming these kids that we may all be able to make this a better place to live.

BTW, I KNOW CT is lying because ACS has never trapped FOR people. They used to give out traps to every tom, dick and harry, but they’ve never actually set traps. So when CT says they were trapped by a “licensed” individual….well, that’s not true. Don’t you know it’s a sin to tell a lie, dude? You better go confess that to your priest now…..

Carol – Did I state a date? This all happened two years ago. I love how you like to accuse without fact. Lastly since you seem like a bigger moron than I thought you were the cats were WILD, they had no tags (against law), they were not kept on the owners property (against law but there was no owner) and they damaged mine (also against law) and if there was an owner, which there was not, they would have been liable. Trespassing is not specific to humans by city code should you care to read it. That is if you can read (or should I say comprehend).

CT, WHAT animal control office? Animal control in San Antonio does NOT accept trapped cats anymore. Everyone in San Antonio knows that. They stopped accepting trapped cats as of April 1, 2008. So you did NOT take those cats to San Antonio animal control. If you live in San Antonio, you probably drove out into the country and dumped them somewhere, which is illegal. Or you shot them or you drowned them, which makes you one sick puppy.

You’re putting a stupid convertible car above a living breathing animal. So don’t open your mouth about not having a life, buddy.

I’ll bet you go to Church too LOL God Bless you and yours, CT. And FS, too LOL

First, they have only been indicted, not convicted. Cathy, I hope you will watch this case and keep the public apprised of the progress. Many times animal cruelty cases get thrown out, or plea bargain down to practically no punishment at all.

It is my understanding from some prior media stories that Mr. Patterson had been such a troubled child that his own family had pretty much given up on him. If he is committing gruesome crimes such as these at the ripe old age of 19, it is a MAJOR red flag that he needs to be taken off the streets before he builds a bomb or something. This is simply not a case of youngster pranks!

Personally, I hope the book gets thrown at these two perverts. I hope they get put in prison and get what’s coming to them from the “prison pimp squad”.

Carol – First of all lets take the liberal tree hugging part of this conversation and throw it out the window. Did you not read my previous posts about animal cruelty? Maybe you need to get a sense of the dynamic around the conversation before you open your mouth. If you were in my garage tearing a hole in the roof of my car (it happened) then I would never hear a word about shooting. That being said this is the first blog I have ever participated in so I am not sure what else you have been reading. Lastly the cats were trapped by a licensed individual and taken to the animal control office. So, before you start accusing read the entire blog – since you obviously have no life.

MB – lets be realistic on this. I have a convertable in my garage that had a hole torn in the roof by a cat that was nobody’s pet, it was wild. Had I had my gun I would have shot it too. Now, that said I am a law abiding citizen and dont condone shooting every cat in the neighborhood. Think about it. In the State of Texas if YOU were in my garage tearing a hole in the roof of my car I could put a slug in you and nobody would blink an eye. That is why I stated what I did prior about not sure of the circumstances – not that I agree with the action. Look at this from a different angle for a second.

Johnny R…FBI statistics show that people who abuse ANY animal usually go a step further and become MURDERS. If you think 10 years is harsh think again! I wonder how you would feel if that person killed one of your relatives? As for going after the real criminals Johnny these are real criminals. Im with P Hernandez.

I have to tell you that I have no use for animal cruelty – none. I dont know the circumstances in which these two were doing what they did and I find it repulsive. I can tell you though that in the area I live in we have so many ferrel (SP?) cats that you cant even have a decent piece of deck furniture b/c it will be covered with cat hair. We have elected to use traps to address the situation. As an animal lover with 3 small dogs I appreciate the comments by those with cats as PETS. I will also agree JS on the ACS intervention b/c I almost suspect the same problem was occuring in that neighborhood.

These crimes are terrible!!!! I think they should pay the price for taking a living life. Even is it is a cat. These cats were tortured and killed for fun. Read up on serial killers. Almost all start with animals. These individuals have no regard for life. Would you want them living next door to you??????

Animal cruelty is generally a red flag for future murderers in the making. It’s not just a cat it’s practice for future more heinous crimes. This is why we have to come down hard on these criminals. Look at past murderer’s stories they almost without exception started killing small animals first.

I hope they get a very tough sentence. These animals are living creatures that were tortured and killed for fun. Everyone out there who sees them just as cats should do a little reading on serial killers. Most start with animals. These humans have no regard for anything living and breathing and kill for excitement. To some of us who don’t have children these pets are like our own children. Would you want someone like that living next door to you??? Really ask yourself that question.

What these two knuckleheads did was criminal. Killing an animal for the thrill of it is warped and they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But let’s not kid ourselves, cats are killed every day in this city either by being run over by cars or poisoned by people who don’t like them rummaging through their trash cans. This city has an out-of-control homeless feline problem that has yet to be addressed by ACS.

Johnny R…what do you suggest they give them for punishment, a warning? Dude, that was a savage act and if they can do that to a defense-less animal, they have the rage inside to do it to a human being. Savages have no place in society.

TEN YEARS FOR A CAT? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME? NOW I’M NOT FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY BUT THAT IS CRAZY, SOMEONE NEEDS TO LOOK AT THOSE LAWS. AND REDIRECT THE PUNISHMENT AS TO FIR THE CRIME GO AFTER THE REAL CRIMINALS THAT KILL PEOPLE AND ROB. GIVE ME A BREAK PEOPLE.

These animals have blood pumping through their veins. They all have their own personality, it’s murder in my eyes. If someone killed my cat for fun, I would hunt them down.

About the Author

Cathy M. Rosenthal has more than 25 years of experience in public relations, communications and humane education in the animal welfare field. She has worked for local humane societies and national humane groups, appearing on hundreds of television and radio news and public affairs programs to address animal issues. She currently is a consultant for local and national animal welfare organizations, writing grants, annual reports and other marketing materials. She is also the author of several children's books about animals.